Trouble in the Pridelands
by ExOhNine
Summary: Simba is having trouble being accepted by the other lions the pride; Zazu is dispatched to comfort the prince and advise him.
1. Chapter 1

A blood red object was rising slowly over the eastern horizon. Simultaneously casting lightness and darkness into the endless savanna below, a lone figure sat atop the highest rock for miles around. Mufasa was deep in observation this morning. During this meditation, the only thing he could think about was the events of the past several days.

It all started mid-day at the watering hole a week ago. His son, Simba, was never much liked by the other lion cubs. Ironically, the adult lionesses couldn't keep their paws off of him, much to the distain of his mother, Sarabi. Even with all of the attention from the adult lions, Simba didn't care. All he wanted in his life was to be friends with all of the other lion cubs his age. Normally the other lion cubs just ignored him and continued playing amongst themselves. Mufasa truly felt sorry for his son but whenever he tried talking to the parents of the other cubs, they shrugged him off and responded, "cubs will be cubs." Eventually the other cubs became less hostile towards Simba, save for one female cub named Hasira.

However, a week ago something happened at the watering hole. The best account he could piece together from the various individual reports he gathered was this: One of the lioness cubs that was the meanest to Simba, Hasira, was alone taking a drink out of the watering hole when Simba confronted her to ask why she was always so mean to him. She immediately went on the offensive and instead of answering his question, threatened to attack him if he ever talked to her again. After reducing Simba to tears, she gleefully ran off and happily played with two of her friends as if nothing had ever happened. Simba then ran off to the only cub that talked to him, Nala. She worked her magic on him and calmed him down. However he was still visibly shaken when he went to his father that night.

While Nala was trying to calm Simba down, Hasira and her two friends were formulating a plan to make Simba's life in the Pridelands, well, a living hell. They started spreading rumors to the zebras and meerkats. After the three girls planted the seeds of misery, the plant grew like wildfire. By the next morning, every single living thing in the Pridelands had heard of the vile rumors, and most of them unfortunately believed them. Rafiki had a name for this trend. He called it "mob mentality." Naturally, Mufasa had no idea what his friend was talking about but believed him anyway. Now Simba could not go anywhere without hearing animals whisper things behind his back, and in some cases, to his face.

It was at this point in Mufasa's mediation that he noticed a familiar blue bird in the sky, flying right toward him. Seconds later, the king's majordomo, Zazu, landed right next to the king and greeted him.

"Good morning Sire," the bird cheerfully said as he bowed in front of the Lion King.

"It's not a good morning Zazu. Can I safely assume that you have heard the bulk of the rumors about me and my family during your morning rounds?"

"Unfortunately, I have Sire. I knew they were false the moment my ears overheard them. I have been trying to quash them but it seems no animal wants to be the one who thinks differently."

"I couldn't care less about the rumors. The three cubs that started them will be dealt with later. Time will quash them for us, just wait. I just can't stand to see my son take the brunt of the onslaught when the only crime his guilt of is standing up for himself."

"Sire, would you like me to talk to him?"

"Please."

-%-^-%-

Simba used to enjoy getting up in the mornings and taking a walk around the Pridelands. Even though most mornings his walks were done in silence with no companions, he enjoyed every moment of them. Sometimes it was nice to take a walk and admire the scenery without any distractions. However, for the past week, ever since he tried to stand up to Hasira, he was never alone. Animals that he had never seen before tried to follow him, trying to provoke him. Usually he ignored them but several times he was _this_ close to his mental breaking point. Today was no different. He heard the whispers behind him when he walked through crowds of animals. He could not tell who it was but he didn't care. He was fed up with the constant bombardment of negative comments. Simba's self-esteem was at an all-time low. He wanted to run away, far away and start a new life in a different pride; a pride where he would be accepted as one of them and not bullied because he was the king's son. The only thing that kept him attached to this pride were his parents.

At the thought of his father, Simba sat down and sighed. He father was always there for him but that was most of the problem. The other lion cubs made fun of him for being a daddy's boy. For being a prince, heir to the throne. Some days Simba thought they were jealous of him, other days he was jealous of them. They didn't have responsibilities. They could play and sleep all day and night. It was at this point that Simba noticed that he was being followed by another creature. A soft swoosh of air rung in his ears, coming from a direction where he thought there was no bird. Split between running away and attacking his stalker, he choose the middle ground. In the fiercest voice he could muster up, Simba calmly said "Show yourself."

"It's only me, Simba," Zazu responded, "Don't attack me."

"My father sent you, didn't he?" Simba coldly asked.

"Yes, he is concerned for you," Zazu said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm fine. Now leave me alone," Simba tried to say proudly, but this thin lie fooled nobody.

"Simba, when I was a young hatchling, I went through the exact same thing that you are going through right now."

"Somehow I seriously doubt that."

"It's true. My two brothers were always getting themselves into trouble. One day they made a business deal with another Hornbill by the name of Rushwa. I never did learn the particulars of the deal…"

"How does your two brothers making a deal with some random bird have anything to do with getting bullied Zazu?"

"I'm getting there, young Simba, be patient. Ah, were was I? Yes, the business deal. As I said, I never did learn what the deal was but when they came home with beaks full of worms that night, I knew something was fishy. They never did anything of their own volition. My mother was always trying to get them out of the nest to do something that benefited society. She never succeeded. I knew they were into something bad but I couldn't put my wing on it. So I dropped the thought until a month later when a nasty rumor about me surfaced. I won't get into the details because, well, it was bad and I don't want those awful memories to surface again."

"That bad, eh?"

"I couldn't look other birds in the face for weeks."

"Who started it?"

"Rushwa, as usual my brothers never upheld their end of the bargain. He eventually got fed up with them and started a rumor about me to pay them back. However, knowing my brothers, they got a kick out of the entire ordeal. When I asked them to help me, they spat in my face and flew off."

"Whoo…What eventually happened Zazu?"

"I learned a lot of lessons that month. My trust in family was forever broken, and to be honest the only animal that I fully trust these days is your father. I haven't spoken to my brothers in years and the relationship with the rest of my family has been…strained as a result. However, I learned several strategies for dealing with bullies. To be honest, you actually have several options when you deal with one. The first option is the one that most of us default to, but to be honest it's the worst out of the three."

"Let me guess Zazu. Confront the bully and do exactly what they want me to do, become emotional?"

"Exactly Simba. Bullies thrive on forcing animals to become emotional. It is what gets them off. When you confronted Hasira earlier this week about how she treated you, she forced you to become emotional. And in doing so, you fell into the trap she had spring for you. It made her day seeing you in tears at the watering hole."

"Thanks for the reminder Zazu," Simba said weakly.

"There is nothing wrong with trying to defend your honor, Sire. But, what is that old proverb? 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'"

"Zazu, how does that apply to my situation?"

"Simple Simba, next time you see Hasira, ignore her."

"But what is that going to accomplish?"

"It's the second option - ignoring her. Bullies like her have very short attention spans. If you do not fall for their tricks again, they will move on. Eventually I stopped responding to Rushwa's comments. Soon enough he became bored trying to provoke me with no response so he dropped the entire thing, and everyone forgot about the rumors shortly thereafter."

"Isn't that hard, ignoring someone when they are trying to provoke a response?"

"It is Simba and it takes a great deal of practice and courage to take the high path, especially when someone is trying desperately to increase their own self-esteem by making you feel miserable."

"Are there any other options, Zazu?"

"There is one more, but it's the hardest of them all. It's the one with the greatest chance of failure. That being said, it's also the most rewarding of all of your options. Play with their mind; their thought process."

"Play…with a bully? How?"

"Do the exact opposite what they are trying to provoke you to. If they want you to become emotional, become emotional-"

"How is that different than the first option Zazu?"

"Let me finish Simba, I said become emotional, but what I really meant was instead of breaking down into tears, sit down with your chest out and your head held up high. Take their verbal blows with dignity. Say exactly what they want you to say but without breaking down, without a hint of emotion. Like I said before, it takes a great deal of courage to deflect the insults while remaining calm. It'll cause the bully to lose interest even faster than ignoring them, because they are receiving immediate feedback that their methods are failing."

"Thank you Zazu for the help."

"Now go run along and play with the other lion cubs."

"I will."

-%-^-%-

Authors Note: What are the odds, my first fan fiction done at exactly 11:59 on Christmas Eve? I have actually been working on a different one since midway through November but the idea for this came when I was taking a shower yesterday (err, two days ago now, I guess? 12/23) Most likely this is a oneshot but I might end up actually doing a Chapter 2, depending on reaction. Yes, it's about what you think it is.

This is XO9, signing out, wishing he had brought his backlit keyboard home for the holidays.


	2. Chapter 2

By all accounts, Hasira was a beautiful little lioness. However, hidden under that glossy fur coat was a troubled young girl. She had never known her father and her mother was never there to answer questions about growing up. Hasira had turned to other female cubs in the pride for support. Early in her youth, she had formed a close bond with two other female cubs, Uvumi and Doa. The three girls were inseparable from one another every waking hour in the day. However, this morning was different. Hasira woke early in the morning, while every other lion in the pride was still deep asleep. She rose slowly, quietly. Her paws were silent as she walked out of the den.

Before she could leave Priderock, she ran into the last lion she wanted to see that morning. "What are you doing out so early?" questioned a voice coming from behind her. Hasira stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Simba. The young prince stood firmly in his position while Hasira eyed him up and down, trying to figure out how to best verbally berate him while remaining quite enough not to wake up the other lions.

Hasira finally settled on "Get out of here" while growling.

"No," Simba replied, obviously afraid but managing to hold his ground.

"Aw, you finally grew a pair. Now get out of here and mind your own business."

"No. Besides, what is a _pretty_ and _popular_ lioness like yourself doing up this early in the morning. It's dangerous to go alone, especially without your friends."

Of all things that Simba could have said to Hasira, this was the most unexpected. Perhaps he really had learned to stand up for himself in the world. Whatever the reason for Simba's sudden spike in self-confidence, Hasira would have none of it. She spat in his face and ran off before he could react.

-%-^-%-

Scar sat on his favorite rock watching the interaction between his nephew and the neighborhood bully from afar. She was good at what she did. He was glad the young cub was on his side. She could indirectly influence the entire pride's opinion on any matter by bullying and insulting the right members. Curious as to why she was out alone this early in the morning, Scar suddenly remembered he was supposed to meet her shortly after sunrise in the elephant graveyard and slowly got to his feet to meet her.

Scar was not the only animal watching the young lioness' actions that morning. Zazu was awoken by the argument between Hasira and Simba. Momentarily disoriented from the sudden alertness he felt, he did a quick headcount of the lions sleeping inside of Priderock. The only lions that were missing were Hasira and Scar. Curious as to what the two were up to, he proceeded to stretch his wings before taking flight, proud of the prince for standing his own ground.

-%-^-%-

"You're late," Hasira growled.

"Didn't your mother ever tell how to address your elders?" the shaggy black lion replied as he entered the rather large cavern that was Scar's meeting place. Scar proceeded to corner her into one of the more dark and filthy caves.

"She never taught me anything. Now, let me out or I will hurt you…"

"Somehow I seriously doubt that," he muttered to himself as he released her.

"…Why, again, did you force me to wake up at this ungodly hour and drag me to this disgusting place?"

"My _friends_ don't think this place is disgusting," Scar said as he gestured to three newcomers who appeared at the entrance to the cave.

"In fact, this 'disgusting place' is our home," the leader of pack of hyenas, Shenzi, said with a grin on her face that could only be described with the word 'evil'.

"Err…I'm sorry," Hasira said, her ego suddenly becoming ten times smaller as the three hyenas sat down and growled at her.

"NEVER apologize. It's a sign of weakness. Are you weak?" Scar exploded as he violently swiped his paw in the air. None of the other animals present had ever seen such a sudden temper change and all four took a step backwards.

"N…Na…No," Hasira tried to respond but words failed her at the moment.

"Silly girl. Apologizing to someone admits defeat. Admitting defeat makes them lose respect for you. And if one loses respect for you, the rest will follow. Do you understand?" Scar tried to put on his best 'teacher' face but failed miserably and the hyenas had to hold back a laugh.

"Yes," replied the small lioness. Hasira was beginning to have second thoughts involving her deal that she had made with Scar.

"Now that we have that settled, I want to commend you on your recent…performances…"

"Who says I was acting? That was no act. I really do despise Simba," countered the young lioness.

"First smart thing you've said missy," interjected a yawning Banzai. Hasira shot him a nasty glare.

"Hasira, dear, I need you to continue exactly what you are doing. Make Simba as miserable as possible. When the time is right, we will strike." You could almost see the gears turning in Scar's head as he thought of his plan to eliminate Mufasa and Simba from the African Savanna.

"Strike? You know, you have never told me why you want me to be mean to him," Hasira said as the puzzle pieces in her head were suddenly falling into place. She did not like this plan and her role.

"Yes, sweetie, strike. With your assistance, once Simba feels worthless…"

"Except he is worthless," interjected Shenzi.

"He is, but he doesn't know that. His big ego surprised even myself," Scar said, disgusted at the thought of his nephew and the throne that he was going to inherit.

"Did you see him and that other lioness singing by the watering hole yesterday? Ed over there had to punch me to keep me from laughing," Banzai snickered. Ed took that remark as an opportunity to punch Banzai and start a brawl with his friend.

"Hyenas; can't live with them, can't live without them," Scar sighed as he watched the two hyenas mock-fight with each other.

"I can," countered Hasira, ignoring the fact that the she was actually scared by the four other animals.

"Enough you two. Let Scar finish and then we can go get breakfast. Didn't anyone else see that injured wildebeest on our way over here?" Shenzi ordered, trying to take control of the situation.

"You know how much I love wildebeest," Banzai said as he shoved Ed's paw out of his mouth and licked his lips, "What's the plan Scar?"

"Just continue what you have all been doing. Go, now," Scar said to the trio of hyenas, "And you, run along and make Simba's life miserable. Hasira sighed at the request and went her merry way. After waiting several minutes in silence, Scar sighed and curled up to took a short nap. Several minutes later, just as Scar started snoring; Zazu flew out from his hiding spot to give the morning report to the king.

-%-^-%-

When Mufasa saw his majordomo flying towards him, he sat down puzzled. The king did not remember Zazu being there at Priderock when he woke up this morning. And even more troubling, the bird's flight path made it clear that he was flying from the Elephant Graveyard. Flashbacks to the situation Simba had gotten Zazu and Nala into entered his mind. Once the bird finally landed next the king, Mufasa asked him what was wrong.

"Sire, it is Scar. He's behind everything. The hyenas have been spreading the rumors about you and Sarabi over the Pridelands, not Hasira," Zazu answered the king, all in one breath.

"So she hasn't been spreading the rumors about Simba?"

"Oh, no, she has. But the ones about you are all from Scar's hench-hyeans. It seems like Scar has some sort of leverage over that poor girl and that's why she has always been so awful towards you and your family Sire."

Mufasa sighed as he looked towards the rising sun.

-%-^-%-

Thanks for the reviews of Chapter 1, you have no idea how much they meant to me. Please R&R. I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to say right here, but I forgot it. Hopefully I'll remember it in time for Chapter 3.

XO9, signing out, praying that notch never ports Minecraft to the Android platform. My GPA would not be able to take the hit. Oh, and the Nook Color is *awesome* once you root it.


	3. Chapter 3

Nala was running through the Pridelands, looking for something, anything that would give her a hint as to the whereabouts of Simba. There was a deep sinking feeling in her heart that she desperately tried to ignore while the young lioness tried to pick up his scent. However, she picked up a different scent; a scent that caused her heart to stop and dread to fill her entire body. When she composed herself and looked up, she saw Hasira grinning with malice in her eyes. Before she could say anything, something was…licking her?

Startled, Nala awoke from her nightmare. This was the second nightmare in a week that involved losing Simba. The licking sensation was still there. Looking around, she saw Simba nuzzling and licking her with a huge grin on his face. "You didn't, did you?" Nala asked, excited that her friend finally stood up for himself.

"I did! Although, I think she was close to tears."

"That was really brave of you. I'm proud of you," Nala replied, returning the nuzzle. However, upon looking around at the sleeping lions in the den, Nala realized that something was wrong, very wrong. Hasira was gone but her cronies were still sleeping in the den. Scar was also missing, but there was nothing _that_ unusual about him running off. Mufasa and Zazu were also out, Nala guessed, doing their daily rounds.

"Let's go back to sleep, I'm tired," Simba tried to suggest but a huge yawn took over his face. Within minutes, the two young lions were soundly asleep, right next to each other.

From her hiding spot in the shadows at the edge of the cave, Hasira outwardly displayed disgust at the young lovers but deep down inside, felt lonely. Her two friends would ditch her at a moment's notice. Her mother was never around and she had never meant her father. No lion loved her the way Mufasa, Sarabi and Nala loved Simba. Strangely, she felt as if she was being lifted off of the ground. When she looked down, she _was_ being lifted off of the ground by some unknown lion.

-%-^-%-

After sending Zazu away, Mufasa went back to Priderock, intent on finding out the truth about Hasira. He saw the young cub hiding at the edge of the main cavern below Priderock, watching the other lions sleeping. Quietly, he walked over until he was standing over her. She was so deep in thought that she did not even notice the change of light over her. Mufasa picked Hasira up by the scruff on her neck and quietly walked away.

Hasira was terrified. She was not having a good day. First Simba had her near tears and now she was being cubnapped by an unknown assailant. Finally, after walking several minutes, she was released and sat down on a small rock. When she opened her eyes up, she was looking straight into the eyes of the king. Mufasa was the lion who had cubnapped her.

"Speak. Why do you take out your loneliness on my son?" his voice was gentle, yet it carried so much power and authority in every syllable.

"I…don't…know," for the third time this morning, Hasira was at a loss for words.

"Is it because of your mother?"

"I guess"

"Ever since Zira started mating with every rogue lion she could get her paws on, I knew something like this would happen."

"Oh, so now I'm a 'something'?" Hasira questioned, annoyed at Mufasa's attitude towards her.

"No, you are a lion. Zira is an excellent hunter but she is way too young to be a mother. She was not mentally prepared to have you when she did and because of that, you have suffered. What family you were born to is not your fault. Because of that, I am giving you a second chance. Do not disappoint me Hasira. Become a better lion than your mother is."

"I will try. Thank you sir."

-%-^-%-

Zira circled around, annoyed that he was late. He was always late. It truly was a wonder how he managed to get anything done, but she still did love him. Scar was the first lion that she had actually fallen for. But his chronic lateness would have to be dealt with. At least the hyenas provided decent company, most of the time. This morning was not one of those times. The trio was nowhere to be seen. Gradually, she was able to discern two voices walking towards her. One was Scar's and the other was Shenzi's.

"You know Scar; if you didn't want your conversation with that cub to be overheard, then why did you have right next to where we sleep?"

"No lion dares enter the Elephant Graveyard because of the _lovely _decorations you have put up."

"Except her," Shenzi said, using her head to point to Zira, who was lurking not far off, "I guess I'll leave you two alone now."

As Shenzi was turning around to leave, Scar said, "Remember the plan for tomorrow. Don't screw it up."

"We won't."

Once Shenzi was out of sight, Scar ran towards Zira and nuzzled her. "Soon, my dear, the plan will be complete. The kingdom will be ours. Your daughter has played her role superbly."

"She is no daughter of mine. I do not care what you do with her once Mufasa and Simba are dead. Exile her for all I care."

Scar's response was to nuzzle her on the neck, while he thought of the various ways to get rid of the lion cub. He knew that she would bring trouble if she was not dealt with quickly.

-%-^-%-

Scar and Zira did not return to Priderock until the next afternoon. Mufasa had kept a close eye on Hasira who was trying to fit in with the rest of the lion cubs by being nice to them. Most of the cubs had taken to this new and improved girl, with the exception of two: Uvumi and Doa. They had actually turned on Hasira when she did not join in on mocking Nala for the bath her mother had given her. When Mufasa saw Hasira helping Nala instead of hurting her, he felt that there was actually hope for her.

However, Scar saw this as a betrayal. She would have to be dealt with quicker than expected. Up until now, she had played her part perfectly but now, now she was tearing down months of hard work. His opportunity came several hours later when Hasira was walking towards the watering hole. Scar snuck up behind her and used his massive paw to bat her to the ground. "Stupid girl…"

"I've changed. I don't want to follow through with the plan," Hasira proudly said. She continued, "It turns out that Simba and Nala are actually nice once you get to know them."

"You have left me no choice. Run away, Hasira. _Run_... Run away and never return. If you ever return, I will kill you. If you screw up my plan any more, I will kill you."

She ran faster than she had ever ran before, while crying like she had never cried before.

-%-^-%-

"Hey Uncle Scar, what was that? Was that Hasira?" Simba questioned as he came up behind Scar, curious as to what the two lions had been talking about.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Hey, Simba, your father has a surprise for you down in the gorge. We had better get going or you'll be late."

-%-^-%-

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it - Oh, look, a House marathon on USA. I know what I'll be doing for the rest of the day.

XO9, singing out, not wanting school to start up again next week. :(


End file.
